Dylan and Dakota Gonzalez aren’t just Instagram famous. They’re not just talented hoopers for UNLV, either. The twins are also talented musicians. And with right around one million IG followers apiece (follow them @miss_dyl and @misss_kota), the dynamic duo, known to the music world as Dyl-Kota, has just the platform to get their sound out to the masses.
“I don’t know if it’s fully registered,” says Dakota (who wears No. 12), the Lady Rebels’ leading scorer this season with 12.4 ppg, of the twins’ overnight stardom. “High school is when we really started and it became this snowball effect. It’s such a humbling thing to experience because we appreciate all of the love that we get. It’s an out-of-body experience to get that type of recognition from other people.”
The sisters initially opted to follow in their mother Angie’s footsteps by signing on to hoop at the University of Kansas. After a year there, they made the move to Sin City. While many speculated that transfer was made for reasons beyond the hardwood, they contend that it was simply about hoops. That’s not to say Vegas hasn’t had its benefits, though.
“Initially, it was solely for basketball purposes and we definitely weren’t thinking that far ahead. I wish that I could give myself that much credit,” Dylan (averaging 7.9 ppg this season) says with a laugh. “As we continued to pursue our music, we were like, ‘Wow, this is a serendipitous thing that we ended up here,’ because it’s an entertainment mecca out here.”
The opportunities have followed. Drake has been spotted at their games. Major labels have reached out. Major networks offered reality shows, but the NCAA shut all that down with the quickness. These two aren’t caught up in the fame. They’re steady grinding toward the future.
“Vegas is…Vegas. The city, the lights and all that stuff,” says Dylan, who cites Alicia Keys and Lauryn Hill as musical inspirations. “We kind of tend to be homebodies. We’re not really about the nightlife or anything like that. We keep to ourselves and do the things that we really like to do: music and basketball.”
All photos courtesy of UNLV Photo Services
